By Glenn Rolfe

MILLSBORO – Shouts of “Play Ball” will give way to “oohs and aahs” of spectators viewing spectacular fireworks here the evening of Saturday, June 29.

The Greater Millsboro Chamber of Commerce’s annual Stars & Stripes extravaganza will be held that night at a new viewing venue – Millsboro Little League’s W.B. Atkins Memorial Park.

The event features food trucks, other table vendors and disc jockey live music and entertainment. It will run from 6 p.m. to about 9:30 p.m.

The estimated 15-minute fireworks show, professionally set off by Brothers Pyro, will begin just after dusk.

Previous community fireworks celebrations have been held at Cupola Park, which was susceptible to tidal flooding.

Several years ago, tidal flooding crept over the bulkhead, inundating a portion of the food vendor area with several inches of water from the Indian River.

“We’re super excited to move into the Little League fields this year,” said Greater Millsboro Chamber Executive Director Anne Angel. “We won’t have to worry about the tide.”

Intentionally, Stars & Stripes is timed to be the first major fireworks event in the region, traditionally held several days prior to the Fourth of July.

“We’re hoping to draw people from outside of Millsboro because we’re the first community that has fireworks around the Fourth of July,” said Ms. Angel. “We’re expecting a big crowd.”

The Millsboro Chamber is working in concert with the Millsboro Police Department and Town of Millsboro staff to ensure everything flows smoothly.

“We work with the police very closely and the town to make sure that people will know where to park, where they can sit,” said Ms. Angel. “The Chief (Brian Calloway) has a very succinct plan for where everyone is stationed, how the traffic flow is going to be.”

Millsboro Police Chief Brian Calloway said the plan is to have officers in vehicles and on bike patrol. The department will also work in concert with the Delaware Department of Transportation and the fire police.

“One of the things we have found with this event and other events is … traffic kind of slowly comes there to the event. Then, as soon as the event is over, when the fireworks are done, everyone all want to leave at once,” Chief Calloway said. “We’ll partner with DelDOT (which may have a drone) and we’ll partner with other agencies, so we can get folks out in an efficient manner.”

A portion of Sussex Alley may be closed to allow spectators to walk more freely to and from the site.

“We’re hoping the W.B. Atkins ballfield will be better than Cupola Park. Hopefully there will be more parking and more exits, or more ways for people to leave,” said Chief Calloway. “We have had other events there in the past. Of course, the Hispanic Festival was there for many years. Big Thursday was there for many years. We do have some experience with events there. But it has been a while.”

Stars & Stripes was last held in 2022. The planned 2023 event at Cupola Park in late June was first postponed due to weather, and ultimately canceled several months later when foul weather again impacted the rescheduled date in September.

Sponsorship support for the canceled 2023 event is carrying over to 2024.

“We are still looking for sponsors, and food vendors and table vendors,” said Ms. Angel.

Vendor applications will be accepted up to mid-June, she said.

“We need to know two weeks before the event. We have to allot the space. We will map out in detail the locations of the food trucks and the vendors. We have to figure out where all of that is going to be,” Ms. Angel said. “This year is more challenging. We have to be a little more strategic with where people can park. However, this will give us more space.”

Past fireworks at Cupola Park were set off on Millsboro Pond. Ms. Angel said the launching site this year was not finalized as of late May.

Meanwhile, volunteers are needed to assist with staging at the event, including traffic, parking and also cleanup.

Potential sponsors or anyone interested in volunteering may contact the Chamber at info@millsborochamber.com or 302-934-6777.

The estimated cost to put a crowd-pleasing show is about $30,000, Ms. Angel said.

The Town of Millsboro contributed $10,000 last year, Mountaire Farms provided $5,000 along with other various level sponsor amounts.

Sponsorship levels are:

•Firecracker, $7,000 and above.

•Starburst, $5,000 to $6,999.

•Bottle Rocket, $2,000 to $4,999.

•Sparkler, $1,000 to $1,999.

W.B. Atkins Memorial Park is located at 262 W. State St.

“We’re looking forward to it. I’m hoping that we have good weather. That has definitely been a challenge through the years,” said Chief Calloway. “We’re hoping that this will go without a hitch.”

The event rain date is Sunday, June 30.